Edison, NJ – The construction of the new Edison Township sports building has become a lightning rod for controversy as costs continue to escalate and delays are well beyond initial projections. Multiple change orders, citing unforeseen conditions, have ballooned the project’s price tag, raising concerns about financial management and transparency.
The latest development involves Resolution R.061-022025, which authorizes Change Order #3 with Epic Management. This change order adds a staggering $557,000 to the project’s budget, bringing the total amended contract amount to a hefty $11,628,247.45. This comes after the original contract, authorized by Resolution R.449-072023, was for $10,787,000.00. Previous change orders (R.261-052024 and R.413-072024) had already added $284,247.45 to the project’s cost.
It’s worth noting that this figure doesn’t include the additional $398,000 approved in July for a construction manager or the $90,280 allocated for turf maintenance equipment. These expenses are in addition to the $5,038,225.81 million already spent on the turf fields bringing the total of the Jets building and field to a staggering $17,154,753.20.
“It’s crucial that we understand where things went wrong and how we can prevent similar issues in future projects, we owe it to the taxpayers to be transparent and accountable for every dollar spent” said Council Rich Brescher in June of 2024 when they approved a $190k change order. “Now here we are once again asking the taxpayers to foot the bill for incompetence and mismanagement. How does a project that started out at $5 million get to $17.2 million with no accountability. I’d like to see how much money the vendors that have been payed on this project have donated to Mayor Joshi’s re-election campaign but he refuses to file his financial disclosures as required by law.”
The justification for this latest increase cites “unforeseen conditions,” including weather, utility requirements and changes, leading to cost overruns in bonding, insurance, and labor. The resolution states that these changes will not nullify the original competitive bidding process. However, the substantial increase raises questions about the accuracy of the initial cost estimates and the effectiveness of project oversight.
This pattern of escalating costs is not unique to the sports building. The synthetic turf field project at Papaianni Park also saw a significant cost overrun. The final cost of that project reached $5,038,225.81, a substantial increase from the original contract amount of $4,198,541. Similar to the sports building, this increase was attributed to change orders, raising further concerns about project management across the township.
The sports building project, initially estimated at around $5 million, has now more than tripled in cost. This dramatic increase has drawn criticism from residents and council members alike, with some questioning the necessity of certain architectural features and the overall financial prudence of the project. While the Township Council remains committed to completing the building, recognizing its value to the community, the ballooning costs have made the project a subject of ongoing debate. The final price tag remains uncertain, leaving residents wondering how much more they will ultimately pay for this facility. As construction continues, the council faces increasing pressure to ensure fiscal responsibility and transparency in the face of these escalating costs.
Mayor Joshi and Chief of Staff Bob Diehl did not respond to request for comment.
